Computer networks--Management

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the issues involved in centralizing network control of two dissimilar network management systems, through the use of a protocol translator. In particular, we consider communication between a Programmable Communications Processor (PCP) and an Access Communications Processor (ACP) for the purposes of control, configuration, software updating and backup. The integration should maintain backwards compatibility to both systems, as well as providing value-added functionality. Issues to be examined include protocol translator design criteria, an implementation strategy for a state/event driven handler and performance testing.

Innovation has flourished at the edge of the Internet; however, the core has experienced a slower pace of innovation. This lag is impacting the pace of innovation at the edge and threatening quality as ad hoc solutions are implemented to overcome core network barriers to innovation. Active networking technology, which opens up the architecture of routers, is proposed as a standard solution. Researchers draw an analogy to the computer industry where innovation is claimed to be accelerated by modularization. This argument is valid to the extent that the router market is similar to the computer market; however, contemporary innovation theories cast doubt on this likelihood. These theories indicate that for active networking technology to accelerate Internet innovation, extraordinary measures will be required to break the status quo. This paper analyzes this situation and makes recommendations, based on innovation theory, on how active networking can be successful in accelerating Internet innovation.

This dissertation proposes YACAD (Yet Another Congestion Avoidance Design for ATM-based Networks), a congestion prevention model that includes admission control, traffic shaping, and link-by-link flow control for ATM-based networks. Network traffic in this model is composed of real-time traffic and data traffic. As real-time traffic is delay-sensitive and connection-oriented, its call acceptance is based upon the effective bandwidth at all nodes. Effective bandwidth is defined as a vector of bandwidth and maximum node delay. As data traffic can be either connection-oriented or connectionless, it is subject to link-by-link flow control based on a criterion known as effective buffer which is defined as a scalar of buffer size. Data traffic is not delay-sensitive but is loss-sensitive. Traffic shaping is imposed on real-time traffic to ensure a smooth inflow of real-time cells. YACAD also allocates a large buffer (fat bucket) to data traffic to accommodate sudden long bursts of data cells. Absence of data cell loss is a major feature of YACAD. Two simulation studies on the performance of the model are conducted. Analyses of the simulation results show that the proposed congestion avoidance model can achieve congestion-free networking and bounded network delays for real-time traffic at high levels of channel utilization. The maximum buffer requirements for loss-free cell delivery for data traffic, and the cell loss probabilities for real-time traffic are also obtained. In addition, results of performance comparisons to other similar models have shown that YACAD outperforms several other leaky-bucket based congestion control methods in terms of cell loss probability for real-time traffic. The simulation source program has also been verified using existing queueing theories, and the Paired-t Confidence Interval method with satisfactory results at 99% confidence level.

In order to guarantee a committed Quality of Service (QoS) to the users of a Broadband Integrated Services Digital Network (B-ISDN), preventive congestion control becomes critical, and is implemented through Call Acceptance Control (CAC) and Usage Parameter Control (UPC) functions. Currently, Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) cells are equipped with a 1-bit Cell Loss Priority (CLP) field, which can be used for service-oriented and/or UPC marking. This creates a conflict, since these two marking approaches may have contradicting objectives, and are designed to operate independently. Moreover, by admitting excessive cells as marked traffic, this group is allowed to grow uncontrollably, thereby jeopardizing the QoS committed to other marked cells. This dissertation presents a solution to these problems by proposing a new 4-class priority strategy that unifies the two marking approaches, and is based on a 2-bit CLP field. The impacts of the new priority scheme are triple-fold: (I) For the UPC, a new scheme, the Forgiving Leaky Bucket (FLB), not only carries priorities through subnetwork boundaries, but also has the power of unmarking, i.e. forgiving, previously marked cells, depending on the bandwidth availability in the entering subnetwork. Forgiving will correct access-point bias, a phenomenon observed in internetworked ATM subnetworks of different congestion conditions. (II) At ATM switching nodes, a new space priority scheme is based on a hybrid of the Nested Threshold, and Push-Out cell discarding methods. This scheme is designed for the 4-class priority strategy, and improves the quality of the low priority traffic. (III) In interfacing High Speed Local Area Networks and Metropolitan Area Networks, idle bandwidth due to STM multiplexing is utilized to carry marked excessive cells of connection-oriented variable bit rate traffic, in addition to the service-oriented marking performed at transmitting stations. The resulting stream is then carried through internetworking points, subject to FLB adjustments. As a result, the STM and ATM subnetworks will support a uniform end-to-end priority strategy, essential for a B-ISDN. The proposed impacts are analyzed and compared with conventional implementations, and future directions are indicated.